64 • THE GRIFFON • Summer 2015
Griffon Association Annual Picnic at Latta Plantation Annual Picnic Spring has been a busy time for the 108th Griffon Association. On May 2, about 50 members and guests participated in our annual picnic, which this year was held at Latta Plantation near Charlotte. Besides enjoying a great BBQ dinner and some fun social time renewing old acquaintances and seeing past battle buddies, the group was also able to spend much of the afternoon visiting a WWII reenactment and encampment with many major pieces of WWII U.S. Army, British Army and Germany Army pieces of equipment. The reenactment we viewed was the Operation Market Garden battle of 1944, which had it been successful could have ended the war before Christmas of 1944. Some of us were also very fortunate to meet a 92 year old WWII veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, a very interesting older gentleman with lots of stories. Many of us also enjoyed a tour of the Latta Plantation house, an early 19th century two story home and one of the oldest structures still standing restored to its original condition in Mecklenburg County. We finished up the day with a briefing from the 108th G-3 about current missions and challenges.
Scholarhips Spring is also the time for the Association’s receipt of applications for the Griffon Association Scholarship program. As during last year’s submission period, we were fortunate to receive applications from all the major subordinate units of the Training Command as well as applicants
representing 108th Griffon Association retiree members. Because of the extremely high quality of all the applicants, the scholarship committee faced a difficult job and was unable to agree on a rank order of all the applicants in a 1-11 list for the board to consider. However, they were able to divide the applicants into three groups or tritiles. During many years in the past, each of the applicants would have qualified for a full Shelby Wright receives scholarship from 108th Griffon Association. amount of $1,000, but due to the number of Brian Kessler – 3/485/1/98th high quality applicants Alexis Neeley – CSM (Retired) the board was not able to fund all at that level. However, we were able to provide $1,000 each for the first tritile, $750 to the second tritile and $500 to the third tritile. The names of the winners and their sponsor’s name and unit of assignment are as follows:
1st Tritile Kelsie Nash Command Sgt. Maj. (Retired) Robert Nash – 108th Shelby Wright – Command Sgt. Maj. (Retired) Jack Wright – 108th Keith Sahr – Capt. Candida Sahr – 1/95th Kennedi Collins – Sgt. 1st. Class Paul Collins – E/1/414/95th
2nd Tritile Allen Robertson –Lt. Col. (Retired) Ken Robertson – 108th Blakley McCurdy – Maj. Dale McCurdy – HQs, 95th Div Kayla Peterson – Sgt. 1st Class
William Lucus – 108th
3rd Tritile David Givens – Master Sgt. Roy Givens – 2/417/4/98th Marie Jones – Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Jones – B/2/319/104th Chad O’Donnell – Sgt. Maj. (Retired) Wally Holston – 108th Lastly Spring is the time we start planning our major fund raiser, the Soldiers and Family Golf Tournament which is scheduled this year for September 28th at Pine Island Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. If you can help us with that effort or want to join the Association, membership applications, golfer registration forms and sponsorship forms are available on our website, www.108thgriffonassoc.com.
